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“Brandeis

FA 199A: Methods and Approaches in the History of Art

Course guide developed for Professor Jonathan Unglaub by Lisa Zeidenberg, Creative Arts Librarian. Originally created by Darwin Scott.

Fair Use

Artworks and images are protected by copyright law, but Fair Use (section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act) provides for certain cases where permission from the rights holder is not required. Detailed information about fair use and its four determining factors can be found in this Overview, from Stanford. Here are the four factors:

  1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether it is of a commercial nature or for nonprofit educational purposes
  2. the nature of the copyrighted work
  3. the amount of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole, and
  4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

based on Yale University Library's Guide to Copyright & Fair Use for Art History Research

Resources on Fair Use for the visual arts

Open access museums and image collections